Community News Roundup

The Florida Department of Transportation will have two open houses on the U.S. 1 construction project between the C-15 Canal, on the Boca Raton/Delray Beach border, and Linton Boulevard.

The meetings will be held 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, at Veteran's Park, 802 NE First St., in Delray Beach, and 9 a.m. to noon April 3 in the Boca Raton Community Center's Royal Palm Room, 150 Crawford Blvd. in Boca Raton.

The project consists of milling and resurfacing the road, widening the road to add bike lanes, widening the bridge over the C-15 canal, adding 6-feet wide sidewalks on both sides of the bridge, building a 5-foot wide sidewalk throughout the project and making landscaping and drainage improvements.

The $3.3 million project began March 24 and should be complete by December.

Boca Raton

Police officers to serve patrons at Red Lobster to aid program

Boca Raton police officers will be acting as servers on Friday at a Red Lobster restaurant to benefit Special Olympics.

Officers will be serving lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and dinner from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the restaurant on 3600 N. Federal Highway.

The "Cops & Lobsters" event benefits the year-round sport training and competition program for individuals with disabilities. Police are asking the public to patronize the restaurant so that proceeds could benefit the program. Call Officer Sandra Boonenberg at 561-338-1269.

Set for 7 p.m. April 3, the event provides incoming sixth-grade students and their parents with basic information about school policies and classes.

Parents will meet in the cafeteria for a brief orientation, and students will meet in the gymnasium under supervision by members of Omni's PTSA. Additional parking will be available across the street at Spanish River High School. Call the school's main office at 561-989-2800.

West Boynton

Learn how to avert drownings during YMCA's Splash Week

Children ages 6 months to 12 and their parents can learn how to prevent drowning by attending the YMCA's Splash Week April 7 to 11 at the Devos-Blum Family YMCA of Boynton Beach, 9600 Military Trail.

Daily, 30-minute sessions are scheduled for children to learn basic swimming skills and water safety procedures, including what to do if a friend accidentally falls into the water, and how to get in and out of a boat.

Parents will receive a free water safety guide booklet.

"The week we are doing the classes is a good time because it is right before summer," said Bev Johnson, the facility's executive director.

Classes start each day at 9 a.m., but children and parents need to register to be assigned a class time. The cost is $5 for each child for the five sessions.

Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department is sponsoring the free event to promote awareness of water conservation and environmental issues.

"It really will be a full day of education, and we will be giving out water conservation kits for the home," said Robert Nelton, department spokesman.

At 10 a.m. Karen Milstein and Arlene Spagna, nature photographers, will lecture on nature photography, followed by an 11 a.m. presentation from the South Florida Water Management District on the role of man-made wetlands in Everglades restoration.

At noon, Busch Wildlife Sanctuary will give a presentation on the animals of the wetlands, featuring baby alligators and birds of prey. The day will conclude with a rehabilitated wildlife release.

Nature center volunteers will give boardwalk tours and tell stories at the chickee hut every hour on the half-hour. Call 561-966-7000.

Delray Beach

Ocean Terraces project wins plat approval from commission

A six-townhouse proposed project on the west side of Palm Trail received final plat approval at a recent City Commission meeting.

Ocean Terraces, in the 1200 block of Palm Trail just north of Bond Way, will consist of six, three-story townhouses. The site was incorporated into the city in 1998. Last March, the Site Plan Review and Appearance Board gave the project a site plan extension for six townhouses, on the condition that the one-acre site is platted.

West Delray

JewishGen staffer to speak at genealogy society meeting

Phyllis Kramer, vice president for education of JewishGen, the Jewish genealogy Web site, will be the guest speaker at the April 9 meeting of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Palm Beach County.

Kramer will offer tips for accessing information from www.jewishgen.org. She teaches an online genealogy course and has compiled a family tree of 5,400 people.